The good news is that it isn’t the only short-form social media video platform out there. Here are the eight best alternative apps you can use instead so you don’t get caught up in the drama. Reels lets you record and edit video montages up to 60 seconds long made from a single video or a series of clips. You can add a soundtrack from a library of options and add a suite of visual effects. Finding Instagram Reels in the first place is a challenge, and unless you use it all the time, you’ll probably forget it’s there. Once you find it, though, it works roughly the same as TikTok and it’s a good alternative since it shares the same effects and editing tools as Instagram Stories. In addition, you can explore Reel’s augmented reality tools that combine graphics with video. Download For: In addition to making your own Snaps, the app has a Discover page for watching other people’s videos and Snap Originals, which are premium videos created expressly for Snapchat users. While not exactly TikTok fare, they include unscripted shows, docuseries, and even serialized dramas and comedies. Download For: That might be because the app is so easy to use. It distinguishes between music videos and social videos, and you choose which kind you’re making right at the outset. From there, social videos can include video clips from your camera roll and filters, but no other effects, text or stickers. To make a music video, you select a track from Triller’s generous library or a song from your phone. It’s fast, easy, and fun. Download For: You get a slew of editing and filter options, soft focus and beauty enhancements, as well as a countdown timer for hands-free recording. One of the nicest features in Likee, though, is the app’s emphasis on music. Not only is there a solid library to choose from, but the music filters can edit your clip in response to the music’s beat and tempo. The app has a thriving community and a lot of content to browse, so whether you’re creating or consuming, there’s something here for you. Download For: You can import videos you’ve already made or record within the app, which has a super-helpful fuel gauge at the top of the screen that fills in spurts as you record your clips. You can add text and music, but you can’t edit a clip once it’s recorded, nor does it offer anything in the way of filters. Byte has what appears to be a thriving community, and you can subscribe to a huge variety of video channels with themes like comedy, Minecraft, K-pop, and, well, many more. Download For: You can use a music clip from Dubsmash’s library or import your own and then record video over the top of the sound. Importing music from your phone is a little annoying but not that difficult (it needs to be converted, and you need to choose which 10-second segment you want to grab. On the content side, there’s enough of a community here to keep you busy for a while, but you won’t find much here for adults. This is a very teen-friendly zone; mostly lip-syncing and dancing, with the occasional charming guitarist showing off. Download For: If you can put all that aside, Funimate is a great short-form video creator, as evidenced by many of the sophisticated-looking creator-community videos you can browse within the app. Indeed, when you try to create a video, you find that you can just start recording, or choose from a slew of templates to make your video distinctive. Yes, many of them look like effects from a video yearbook, but they add a splash of excitement to what might otherwise be an ordinary lip-synch video. You can select from Funimate’s music library or your own songs, and it’s one of the few apps that has its own surprisingly powerful video editor, if you choose to use it. Download For: As a TikTok user, the creation experience should feel familiar. You can record fresh video or grab files from your camera roll. There’s a great assortment of filters and effects, and you can choose from a solid music library. Unfortunately, there’s no way to import your personal music files. Download For:
